CN112964532A

CN112964532A - Holder for holding cover glass

Info

Publication number: CN112964532A
Application number: CN202110295953.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 河井智德; 宫入大和
Original assignee: Sakura Seiki Co Ltd; Sakura Finetek Japan Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sakura Seiki Co Ltd; Sakura Finetek Japan Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-08-12
Filing date: 2017-05-30
Publication date: 2021-06-15
Also published as: EP3460445A4; EP3460445B1; US11698379B2; EP3460445A1; US20230288440A1; WO2018029943A1; US20210278428A1; JP2018025512A; JP6692252B2; EP3693721B1; EP3693721A1; CN109642859B; CN109642859A

Abstract

Provided is a holder for holding a cover glass, which can match a transparency agent to the type of the cover glass well. A holder (11) is attached to a cover glass sticking apparatus and holds a cover glass (10) as a cover film or cover glass, and the holder (11) has cover glass information (14) including at least the type of the held cover glass.

Description

Holder for holding cover glass

The application is a divisional application of an invention patent application with the application number of 201780049588.1(PCT/JP2017/019997), the application date of 2017, 5 and 30, and the invention name of a cover glass pasting device.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a holder for holding a cover glass attached to a slide glass to which an specimen of an object to be examined is attached.

Background

In the pathological examination, after a specimen obtained by cutting a biological material into thin sections is attached to a slide glass and stained, the specimen is protected by attaching a cover glass to the surface of the slide glass and observing the slide glass with a microscope.

In the present specification, the concept of the cover glass includes both a cover film (cover film) and a cover glass (cover glass).

Patent document 1 discloses a device for attaching a cover film to the surface of a slide glass.

The cover film sticking apparatus of patent document 1 includes a basket (basket) that houses a plurality of slide glasses before the cover films are stuck, and a taking-out apparatus that takes out the slide glasses from the basket.

The basket containing the slide glass before the cover film is attached is immersed in a transparent agent such as xylene to prevent the specimen from drying.

A solvent for dripping a sealant or dissolving a sealant previously coated on the cover film is dropped on the slide glass taken out from the basket.

The cover film is drawn out from the roll and cut into a predetermined length by a cutter. The cut cover film having a predetermined length is pressed and adhered to the slide glass on which the sealant is dropped.

Then, the slide glass to which the cover film is attached is returned to the basket.

Patent document 2 discloses a device for attaching a cover glass to the surface of a slide glass.

The cover glass attaching apparatus of patent document 2 includes a basket for storing a plurality of glass slides before attaching and a taking-out apparatus for taking out the glass slides from the basket, as in the cover glass attaching apparatus of patent document 1. The basket containing the slide glass before the cover glass is adhered is immersed in a transparent agent such as xylene to prevent the specimen from drying.

The cover glass is stored in the holder in a state where a plurality of sheets are stacked. The cover glass is taken out of the holder one by an adsorption disk provided to the rotary arm.

When the cover glass is attached to the slide glass, the attachment is performed as follows: the cover glass is obliquely brought into contact with the slide glass from one end side by rotating the rotating arm, and air is pushed out.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2005-300323

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2001-337280

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In many cases, a sealant is applied to the cover film and the cover glass in advance, and the sealant is dissolved by a transparent agent at the time of bonding to seal the cover film and the cover glass. However, there are problems as follows: if the combination of the sealant and the transparent agent used is not appropriate, air bubbles may be mixed during adhesion, and the cover film and the cover glass may be peeled off after sealing.

When the combination of the transparent agent and the cover film or the cover glass is inappropriate as described above, the following may occur: the specimen is damaged by drying; the microscopic examination range is narrowed by mixing air bubbles, and pathological diagnosis cannot be performed. In particular, loss of the specimen due to drying is a big problem, and in the case where air bubbles are mixed, the air bubbles interfere with the specimen and cause a portion that cannot be observed, and data loss is a big problem. In this case, even if the sealing can be performed again, time is lost until microscopic examination, and there is a problem that work efficiency is lowered.

In addition, when the above-described problem occurs in which the transparent agent does not match the combination of the type of the cover film and the type of the cover glass, it is difficult to identify the cause, and it is difficult to achieve a true improvement.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a holder for holding a cover glass, which can match a kind of a transparent agent to a kind of a cover glass well.

Means for solving the problems

According to the present invention, there is provided a cover glass holding holder which is attached to a cover glass sticking apparatus and holds a cover glass which is a cover film or cover glass, the cover glass holding holder including cover glass information including at least a type of a cover glass to be held.

With this configuration, in the cover glass sticking apparatus, the cover glass information is read from the holder mounted, and in the case where the cover glass information does not match the holder mounted on the mounting portion, the holder holding a different cover glass can be remounted without using the cover glass of the holder mounted on the mounting portion. Therefore, sealing errors such as air bubble mixing can be reduced.

Further, the cover glass information may be recorded on the surface of the holder.

The record here means that characters, numbers, a barcode, a QR code (registered trademark), and the like are printed on the surface of the holder.

Further, the holder may be provided with a cover glass storage unit in which the cover glass information is stored.

According to this configuration, the holder can be provided with more information than in the case where the cover glass information is described on the holder surface.

Further, the data stored in the cover glass storage unit may be rewritable.

With this configuration, the cover glass storage unit can store information necessary for use of a cover glass, and this information can be used when a cover glass of the same holder is used next. That is, the use history of the cover glass held by the holder can be stored as information in the holder, and traceability can be ensured.

The cover glass information may include an initial value of the amount of the cover glass including the length or the number of the cover glass held by the holder, and the holder may be written with the remaining amount of the cover glass held by the holder calculated by the remaining amount calculating unit of the cover glass provided in the cover glass sticking apparatus.

With this configuration, the holder can be removed from the cover glass attaching apparatus after the end of the work, and the accurate margin can be grasped when the cover glass attaching apparatus is used next. Therefore, the time of replacing the cover glass can be conceived, and the apparatus does not need to be monitored all the time. In addition, when the cover glass is a cover film, the cover glass may not be wound by a length corresponding to the amount of securing the sealing.

In addition, the cover slip information may include a lifetime of the cover slip.

According to this configuration, the use of the cover glass over the term can be avoided, and therefore, sealing errors and the like can be reduced.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the holder for holding a cover glass of the present invention, sealing errors such as air bubble mixing can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance structure of a holder for a cover film.

Fig. 2 is an explanatory view showing an internal structure of the cover film application device as viewed from the front.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the cover glass information is a barcode and the notification unit is a monitor.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the cover glass information is a barcode and the notification unit is a speaker.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the cover glass information is a barcode and the notification unit is an external device connected through a communication device.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a case where cover slip information is stored in the RFID.

Fig. 7 is an explanatory view showing a conventional attachment portion of a cover film.

Fig. 8 is a front view showing an external configuration of the holder for cover glass.

Fig. 9 is an explanatory view showing an internal configuration of the cover glass attaching apparatus as viewed from above.

Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal configuration of the cover glass attaching apparatus.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the cover glass information is a barcode and the notification unit is a monitor.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the cover glass information is a barcode and the notification unit is a speaker.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the cover glass information is a barcode and the notification unit is an external device connected through a communication device.

Fig. 14 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a case where cover slip information is stored in the RFID.

Detailed Description

(first embodiment)

Next, a device for attaching a cover glass using a cover film will be described.

The cover film is first explained.

The cover film 10 shown in fig. 1 is a resin film, and is mounted in the bonding apparatus in a state of being wound around the annular holder 11. The cover film 10 has a length of about 60m, and is used after being drawn out from a wound state and cut to a predetermined length.

Cover glass information 14 is recorded on the surface of the holder 11. As a description method, a barcode, a QR code, or the like can be used.

The cover glass information 14 includes at least the kind of cover film. The cover glass information preferably includes the length and the life of the cover film.

The type of the cover film may be a product number of the cover film, but includes whether or not the cover film is coated with the sealant, and what type of sealant is when the sealant is coated. In addition, in the case where only the product number of the cover film is used as the cover glass information, the product number of the cover film needs to be stored in association with whether or not the cover film is coated with the sealant, and what kind of sealant is used when the sealant is coated, on the cover film attaching apparatus side.

Next, the cover film attaching apparatus will be described with reference to fig. 2.

The cover film attaching device 30 includes an immersion tank 32 in which a clearing agent (clearing agent) is stored. In addition, a plurality of slide glasses 22 to which the thinned specimen specimens are attached are stored in the basket 21. The basket 21 has the following shape: a plurality of slide glasses 22 to which thinned specimen specimens are attached are inserted into the basket 21 at right angles to the bottom surface portion and accommodated therein. The basket 21 is stored in the dipping tank 32, and the slide 22 is dipped in a transparent agent.

The cover film sticking apparatus 30 includes a take-out arm 34 for taking out the basket 21 from the dipping tank 32. The extraction arm 34 is provided with a grip 36 at a distal end thereof for gripping the basket 21, and the extraction arm 34 rotates about a rotation shaft 35 oriented in the horizontal direction in a vertical plane to extract the basket 21 from the dipping tank 32.

The taking-out arm 34 is rotated 90 degrees in the vertical plane to a position where the slide glass 22 in the basket 21 taken out from the dipping tank 32 is horizontal.

The basket 21 rotated to a position where the slide glass 22 is horizontal is placed on the vertically movable table 37. The lifting and lowering table 37 raises the basket 21 to the standby position (reference character a in fig. 2).

A push-ejector 38 for pushing out the slide glass 22 one by one from the basket 21 is provided at the standby position.

The pushing member 38 pushes out the slide 22 from the basket 21, and moves the slide 22 to a predetermined position B on the horizontal table 40.

At the predetermined position B, the cover film 10 is attached to the slide glass 22.

The cover film 10 is wound around the holder 11 as described above and attached to the attachment portion C to which the holder 11 is attached.

When the holder 11 is attached to the attachment portion C, the cover glass information 14 described on the surface of the holder 11 needs to be attached in a direction and at a position where it can be read by a reading portion described later.

The cover film 10 is pulled out horizontally from the upper part of the holder 11 and directed downward via the roller 44. The cover film 10 is further positioned at an angle such that the slide glass 22 disposed at the predetermined position B is approached from diagonally above via a pair of feed rollers 46.

A cutter 48 for cutting the cover film 10 to a predetermined length and a pair of cover rollers 50 for feeding the cover film 10 cut to the predetermined length onto the slide glass 22 are provided at positions closer to the predetermined position B than the feed roller 46.

A dispensing nozzle 52 for dropping a sealant is provided at the predetermined position B. The dispensing nozzle 52 is connected to a pump and a pipe, not shown, and draws up the sealant from the solvent bottle 55 through the pump and the pipe, not shown. The tip of the dispensing nozzle 52 is disposed above the specimen of the slide 22 disposed at the predetermined position B, and the sealant can be dropped on the upper surface of the specimen.

The cover film 10 cut to a predetermined length is attached to the slide glass 22 by an attaching roller 54 as an attaching portion.

The slide 22 to which the cover film 10 has been attached is moved in the horizontal direction by a return pushing member (return ejector)56 so as to be accommodated in the original position in the basket 21.

When the attachment of the cover film 10 to one slide glass 22 is completed, the raising/lowering table 37 raises the basket 21 by an amount corresponding to the thickness of one slide glass 22. Then, the next slide 22 that is not attached is pushed out from the basket 21 to the predetermined position B, and the cover film 10 is attached.

When the cover film 10 is completely attached to all the slide glasses 22 in the basket 21, the lift table 37 is raised, and the basket 21 is stored in the storage section 58 for storing the basket 21 to which the cover film is attached.

The sealant and the like overflowing the slide glass 22 fall on the waste liquid tray 59 disposed below the predetermined position B, are collected, and are stored in the waste liquid bottle 60 disposed below the waste liquid tray 59.

Next, reading of the cover slip information and use of the cover slip information will be described with reference to fig. 3.

A reading unit 62 for reading the cover glass information recorded on the surface of the holder 11 is provided near the mounting unit C of the cover film attaching device 30.

In the present embodiment, since the case where the cover glass information is a barcode as shown in fig. 1 is described, an example in which a barcode reader is used as the reading unit 62 will be described.

The reading unit 62 may be a CCD camera or the like instead of the barcode reader. In this case, the read unit 62 is a CCD camera, and the read data can be analyzed by an application program for QR code recognition.

The operation of reading the slide information by the barcode reader 62 is executed based on an instruction from the control section 64.

The control unit 64 controls the entire operation of the cover film sticking apparatus 30, and the control unit 64 is constituted by a CPU, a memory, and the like. An operation control program is stored in advance in the memory, and the operation of the cover film sticking apparatus 30 is realized by executing the operation control program.

The operations of the coating film pasting device 30 include, as described above, driving of the take-out arm 34 that takes out the basket 21 from the dipping bath 32, driving of the lift table 37 that raises the taken-out basket 21, driving of the push member 38 and the return push member 56, driving of the feed roller 46 that introduces the coating film 10 to the predetermined position B, driving of the cutter 48 that cuts the coating film 10 to a predetermined length, dispensing operation of the dispensing nozzle 52, driving of the pasting roller 54, and the like.

The control unit 64 is provided with a storage unit 65, and the storage unit 65 stores the type of the transparent agent currently stored in the immersion tank and the matching information between the type of the transparent agent and the type of the cover film.

The operator needs to store the information in the storage unit 65 in advance.

The kind of the cover film includes whether or not a sealant is previously coated on each cover film, and the kind of the sealant in the case of coating the sealant.

The matching information stored in the storage unit 65 is information as to whether or not the type of the transparent agent stored in the immersion tank 32 matches each of the plurality of sealant types.

The control section 64 extracts information on whether or not the cover film is coated with the sealant in advance, and what kind of sealant is when the sealant is coated, from the cover glass information read by the bar code reader 62, and the determination section 66, which is one function of the control section 64, determines that the sealant is not coated on the cover film, or determines that the sealant coated on the cover film matches the transparent agent stored in the current dipping bath, or determines that the sealant coated on the cover film does not match the transparent agent stored in the current dipping bath.

The controller 64 does not operate in particular when the determination unit 66 determines that the sealant is not applied to the cover film and that the sealant applied to the cover film matches the transparent agent currently stored in the immersion tank. However, when the sealant applied to the coating film is determined not to match the transparent agent stored in the immersion tank, the controller 64 notifies the operator of the determination via the notification unit 68.

A monitor 68 such as a liquid crystal can be used as the notification unit 68. The controller 64 displays a message "the sealant applied to the cover film does not match the transparent agent" on the monitor 68, and prompts the operator to replace the cover film.

Note that, when the sealant is not applied to the cover film and when the sealant applied to the cover film matches the transparent agent stored in the dipping bath, the controller 64 may display the information on the monitor 68.

Note that the result determined by the determination unit 66 may be stored in the storage unit 65, not notified by the notification unit 68.

The cover glass information may include the lifetime of the cover film.

In this case, a calendar function (not shown) is provided in advance in the control unit 64. When the cover glass information read by the bar code reader 62 includes the use period, the use period detection section 70, which is one function of the control section 64, compares the current date with the use period. When the lifetime detection unit 70 detects that the cover film is within the lifetime, the operation is not particularly performed, and when the lifetime is detected to be exceeded, the effect is displayed on the monitor 68, thereby prompting the operator to replace the cover film.

Further, the cover slip information may include a lot number (lot number). In this case, the above-mentioned lifetime is not required. In this case, the control unit 64 also needs to be provided with a calendar function and data (not shown) for associating a lot number with a lifetime.

The lifetime detection unit 70 of the control unit 64 calculates a lifetime from the prestored data based on the lot number read by the barcode reader 62, and compares the current date with the lifetime. The lifetime detection unit 70 does not operate particularly when it detects that the cover film is within the lifetime, and when it detects that the cover film is over the lifetime, it displays the result on the monitor 68 to prompt the operator to replace the cover film.

The cover glass information may include the date of production of the cover film. In this case, the above-mentioned lifetime is not required. In this case, it is also necessary to provide the control unit 64 with a calendar function and data (not shown) for associating the production date with the use period.

The lifetime detection unit 70 of the control unit 64 calculates a lifetime from the data stored in advance based on the production date read by the barcode reader 62, and compares the current date with the lifetime. When the lifetime detection unit 70 detects that the cover film is within the lifetime, the operation is not particularly performed, and when the lifetime is detected to be exceeded, the effect is displayed on the monitor 68, thereby prompting the operator to replace the cover film.

The monitor 68 may be used not only to notify the matching between the sealant and the transparent agent of the cover film and/or to notify the lifetime, but also to serve as a monitor for displaying information related to a normal pasting work.

The notification unit is not limited to a monitor, and may be configured by a sound generation unit 71 and a speaker 73 that output sound such as "the sealant applied to the cover film does not match the transparent agent" or "the expiration date" as shown in fig. 4.

In the case of this configuration, it is necessary to store in advance sound data such as "the sealant applied to the cover film does not match the transparent agent" and "the lifetime is exceeded" as the sound generation unit 71.

Further, as the notification unit, when the sealant and the transparent agent do not match and/or when the use period is exceeded, the notification may be made from the speaker 73 to the operator by a buzzer sound or the like other than sound.

As shown in fig. 5, the notification unit may be a communication device 76 capable of data communication with an external device. The communication device 76 is connected to a communication line 77 such as the internet so as to be capable of data communication, and can notify an external device 78 connected to the communication line 77. Examples of the external device 78 include a portable communication device such as a smartphone and a general personal computer.

For example, in the case where the sealant does not match the transparent agent and/or exceeds the lifetime, the communication means 76 transmits the meaning that the sealant does not match the transparent agent and/or the meaning that the sealant exceeds the lifetime to the external device 78. This makes it possible to notify the person holding the external device 78 of the above information.

Further, the control section 64 may store the result in the storage section 65 as to whether or not the sealant and the transparent agent match as a result of the determination by the determination section 66 and/or whether or not the detection result by the lifetime detection section 70 exceeds the lifetime.

By storing these results in the storage unit 65, traceability can be secured when some trouble is found after pasting, and the cause can be easily investigated.

In the first embodiment described above, the description has been given of the case where the notification unit is the monitor 68, the speaker 73, or the external device 78, and a configuration in which these are appropriately combined may be adopted as the present invention.

(second embodiment)

In the second embodiment, a description will be given of a mode in which the cover slip information is stored in a cover slip storage section in which data can be rewritten. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof may be omitted.

Next, an embodiment in which the RFID 71 is used as a cover glass storage unit will be described with reference to fig. 6.

The RFID 71 is embedded in an arbitrary position of the holder 11.

The cover film sticking apparatus 30 is provided with a reader/writer 72 capable of reading and writing data to the RFID 71.

The cover glass information stored in the RFID 71 includes, in addition to the kind and the life of the cover glass, an initial value of the length of the cover film in the case of a new cover film, and a remaining amount of the length of the cover film in the case of an already used cover film.

In addition, as in the first embodiment, a lot number or a date of production of the cover film may be stored as the cover glass information instead of the lifetime.

The cover film sticking apparatus 30 is provided with a usage amount calculating section 74 for calculating the usage amount (length) of the cover film. The usage amount calculation section 74 is provided as one function of the control section 64. The usage amount calculating section 74 can calculate the usage amount by multiplying the number of the cover films cut to a predetermined length by the cutter 48 by a predetermined length of one cover film.

The cover film sticking device 30 is provided with a remaining amount calculating unit 75, and the remaining amount calculating unit 75 calculates the remaining length of the cover film wound around the holder 11 based on the used length of the cover film.

The remaining amount calculating section 75 is provided as one function of the control section 64. The remaining amount calculating section 75 can calculate the remaining length of the cover film wound around the holder 11 by subtracting the used length calculated by the used amount calculating section 74 from the initial value of the length of the cover film.

The reader/writer 72 can write the remaining length of the cover film into the RFID 71 based on the remaining length of the cover film calculated by the remaining amount calculating section 75.

If the holder 11 that is not used is used for the first time, since the initial value of the length of the cover film is stored in the RFID 71, the reader/writer 72 rewrites the initial value or stores the remaining length independently of the initial value.

In addition, when the holder 11 that was used last time is used, the remaining length is stored in the RFID 71, and therefore the reader/writer 72 rewrites the remaining length.

Further, if the cover film is kept in the state of being mounted in the cover film attaching device 30, the cover film may be plastically deformed at a position bent with a large curvature, particularly, at a position where the cover film is wound around a roller, a pulley, or the like. When the cover film is plastically deformed, the sealing performance is deteriorated in the next use, which adversely affects the device control. Therefore, after the operation of the cover film attaching apparatus for one day is completed, the cover film wound around the holder 11 is removed from the cover film attaching apparatus 30, and is attached to the attachment portion C of the cover film again for use at the next time.

At this time, since the remaining amount of the cover film is stored in the RFID 71, the controller 64 reads the remaining amount of the cover film from the RFID 71 and displays the read remaining amount on the monitor 68, so that the operator can grasp how much cover film is used and then replace the cover film.

Fig. 7 shows a peripheral structure of a mounting portion C of a conventional cover film. In fig. 7, the structure is almost the same as the structure around the mounting portion C shown in fig. 2 except for the lead portions, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

In the conventional configuration, the cover film is wound so as to secure a length of all the slide glasses capable of being attached to the maximum number of slide glasses 22 stored in the basket 21, from when the cover film is drawn out from the holder 11 to when the cover film reaches the predetermined position B as the attachment position.

In this way, even if a sensor (not shown) detects that the cover film drawn out from the holder 11 is at the end, the cover film can be attached to at least all of the slide glasses stored in the basket 21 currently undergoing the attaching operation.

Therefore, the specimen of the slide glass can be kept in a state of being exposed to the air for a long time, and the specimen can be prevented from being damaged.

In this regard, in the present embodiment, since the remaining amount of the cover film can be accurately grasped, as shown in fig. 2, the cover film drawn out of the holder can be introduced into the predetermined position B without being wound by the length corresponding to the maximum number of slide glasses stored in the basket, and therefore, an extra space corresponding to the amount of winding can be not secured, and defects such as adhesion and folding of fingerprints due to the long winding can be prevented.

Further, the control unit 64 may collect the use history of the cover film sticking apparatus 30 and store the collected use history in the RFID 71 of the holder 11 from the reader/writer 72.

In this way, even when the cover film attaching apparatus 30 itself fails to read the use history due to a failure or the like, the use history can be read from the holder 11.

In the second embodiment, the example in which the monitor 68 is used as the notification unit has been described, but the speaker 73 or the external device 78 may be used as the notification unit, or a combination of these may be appropriately used.

The reader/writer 72 may be provided outside the cover film attaching apparatus 30 (not shown) independently of the cover film attaching apparatus 30, instead of being provided inside the cover film attaching apparatus 30. In this case, reading and writing of the cover glass information can be performed from the outside of the cover film attaching apparatus 30.

(third embodiment)

Next, a cover glass attaching apparatus 90 that uses a cover glass as a cover glass will be described.

First, the cover glass and the holder will be described with reference to fig. 8.

The cover glass 80 is formed in advance to have a predetermined length in use, unlike the cover film. A plurality of cover glasses 80 (typically about 100 to 300) are stacked and stored in the holder 82, and are mounted together with the holder 82 in the cover glass bonding apparatus 90.

The holder 82 shown here has a bottom surface portion 82a, and four pillar portions 82b extending in the vertical direction from the four corners of the bottom surface portion 82 a. A recess 82c is formed inside each pillar portion 82b so as to accommodate four corners of the cover glass 80.

The pillar portions 82b of the holder 82 are open between each other and on the upper surface thereof, and the cover glass 80 can be easily stored in and removed from the holder 82. The holder 82 may be configured such that the periphery and the bottom surface are surrounded by wall surfaces and only the upper surface is open.

The cover glass information 84 is recorded on the surface of the holder 82 at an arbitrary position. Fig. 8 shows an arbitrary side surface of the pillar portion 82 b.

As a description method, a barcode, a QR code, or the like can be used.

The cover glass information 84 includes at least the kind of cover glass. Further, the cover glass information preferably includes a lifetime and the like.

Next, the structure of the cover glass bonding apparatus will be described with reference to fig. 9 to 10.

The cover glass bonding apparatus 90 includes an immersion tank 92 in which a transparent agent is stored. In addition, a plurality of slide glasses 22 to which the thinned specimen specimens are attached are stored in the basket 21. The basket 21 has the following shape: a plurality of slide glasses 22 to which thinned specimen specimens are attached are inserted into the basket 21 at right angles to the bottom surface portion and accommodated therein. The basket 21 is stored in the dipping tank 92, and the slide 22 is dipped in a transparent agent.

Above the immersion tank 92, a take-out mechanism 94 for lifting the slide glass 22 upward from the basket 21 is disposed. The taking-out mechanism 94 grips the upper edge of the slide glass 22 and ascends, and after ascending to a predetermined height, rotates the slide glass 22 in the horizontal direction, and disposes the slide glass 22 at the first station D.

The first station D is provided at a starting point position in the traveling direction of the slide glass 22 in the carrying device 96. The carrier device 96 transfers the slide 22 in the order of the first station D, the second station E, the third station F, and the fourth station G.

A dispensing nozzle 98 is provided at the second station E, and the dispensing nozzle 98 is used to dispense the sealant or a solvent dissolving the sealant previously applied to the cover glass to the slide glass 22. The tip of the dispensing nozzle 98 is inserted into a container 100 in which a solvent for preventing the sealant from curing is contained.

The third station F is a location where the cover glass 80 is affixed to the slide 22.

An attachment portion 102 for placing the holder 82 containing the cover glass 80 thereon is provided above the third station F. Further, the suction tray 104 for sucking and holding the cover glass 80 is provided above the third station F and above the mounting portion 102.

In the third station F, the suction tray 104 holds one cover glass 80 by suction, and the suction tray 104 descends toward the slide glass 22 placed in the third station F to attach the cover glass 80. In the present embodiment, the suction pad 104 corresponds to the attachment portion of the present invention.

The fourth station G is a station for placing the slide glass 22 to which the cover glass 80 is attached and accommodating it in the accommodating section 106.

A storage mechanism 108 is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the fourth station G, and the storage mechanism 108 stores the slide glass in the storage section 106.

The storage mechanism 108 grips the slide glass 22 placed at the fourth station G and moves to the downstream side in the transport direction. Then, the housing mechanism 108 lowers the held slide glass 22, and houses the slide glass 22 to which the cover glass 80 is attached in the housing section 106 located below the housing mechanism 108.

A reading unit 110 (not shown in fig. 10) for reading the cover glass information recorded on the surface of the holder 82 is provided near the third station F or near the fourth station G.

Next, the cover slip information and the use thereof will be described with reference to fig. 11.

In the present embodiment, a case where the cover glass information is a barcode as shown in fig. 8 is described, and therefore, an example in which a barcode reader is used as the reading unit 110 is described.

The reading unit 110 may be a CCD camera or the like instead of a bar code reader. In this case, the read unit 110 is a CCD camera, and the read data can be analyzed by an application program for QR code recognition.

The operation of reading the cover glass information by the barcode reader 110 is executed based on an instruction from the control unit 112.

The control unit 112 controls the entire operation of the cover glass bonding apparatus 90, and is constituted by a CPU, a memory, and the like. The memory stores an operation control program in advance, and the operation of the cover glass bonding apparatus 90 is realized by executing the operation control program.

The operation of the cover glass bonding apparatus 90 includes, as described above: an operation of taking out the slide glass 22 from the immersion tank 92 and placing the slide glass on the taking-out mechanism section 94 of the first station D, an intermittent carrying operation of the carrying device 96, a dispensing operation of the dispensing nozzle 98, an operation of taking out and attaching the cover glass 80 to the slide glass 22 by the suction tray 104, an operation of storing the slide glass 22 in the storage section 106 by the storage mechanism section 108, and the like.

The control unit 112 is provided with a storage unit 113, and the storage unit 113 stores the type of the transparent agent currently stored in the immersion tank and the matching information between the type of the transparent agent and the type of the cover glass.

The operator needs to store the information in the storage unit 113 in advance.

The kind of the cover glass includes whether or not the respective cover glasses are coated with the sealant in advance, and the kind of the sealant in the case of coating the sealant.

The matching information stored in the storage unit 113 is information as to whether or not the type of the transparent agent stored in the immersion tank 92 matches each of the types of the plurality of sealing agents.

The control section 112 extracts information on whether or not the cover glass is coated with the sealant in advance and what kind of sealant is when the sealant is coated from the cover glass information read from the barcode reader 110, and the determination section 114, which is one function of the control section 112, determines that the sealant is not coated on the cover glass, or that the sealant coated on the cover glass matches the transparent agent stored in the current dipping tank, or that the sealant coated on the cover glass does not match the transparent agent stored in the current dipping tank.

The control unit 112 does not particularly operate when the determination unit 114 determines that the sealant is not applied to the cover glass and when the sealant applied to the cover glass matches the transparent material stored in the immersion tank at present. However, when it is determined that the sealant applied to the cover glass does not match the transparent agent stored in the immersion tank, the control unit 112 notifies the operator of the determination via the notification unit.

The notification unit can be a monitor 116 such as a liquid crystal display. The controller 112 causes the monitor 116 to display "the sealant applied to the cover glass does not match the transparent agent", and prompts the operator to replace the cover glass.

In addition, when the sealing agent is not applied to the cover glass and when the sealing agent applied to the cover glass matches the transparent agent currently stored in the immersion tank, the controller 112 may display the information on the monitor 116.

The cover glass information may include the lifetime of the cover glass.

In this case, a calendar function (not shown) is provided in advance in the control unit 112. When the cover glass information read by the barcode reader 110 includes a use period, the use period detection section 118, which is one function of the control section 112, compares the current date with the use period. The lifetime detection unit 118 does not operate particularly when it detects that the glass is within the lifetime, and when it detects that the glass has exceeded the lifetime, it displays the fact on the monitor 116 to prompt the operator to replace the cover glass.

Further, the cover slip information may include a lot number. In which case the above-mentioned lifetime is not required. In this case, the control unit 112 also needs to be provided with a calendar function and data (not shown) for associating a lot number with a use period.

The lifetime detection unit 118 of the control unit 112 calculates a lifetime from the data stored in advance based on the lot number read from the barcode reader 110, and compares the current date with the lifetime. The lifetime detection unit 118 does not operate particularly when it detects that the glass is within the lifetime, and when it detects that the glass has exceeded the lifetime, it displays the fact on the monitor 68 to prompt the operator to replace the cover glass.

As the cover glass information, the production date of the cover glass may also be included. In this case, the above-mentioned lifetime is not required. In this case, it is also necessary to provide a calendar function and data (not shown) for associating the production date with the use period in the control unit 112.

The expiration date detection unit 118 of the control unit 112 calculates an expiration date from the data stored in advance based on the production date read from the barcode reader 110, and compares the current date with the expiration date. The lifetime detection unit 118 does not operate particularly when it detects that the glass is within the lifetime, and when it detects that the glass has exceeded the lifetime, it displays the fact on the monitor 116 to prompt the operator to replace the cover glass.

The monitor 116 may be used not only to notify the matching between the sealing material and the transparent material of the cover glass and/or to notify the service life, but also to serve as a monitor for displaying information related to a normal pasting work.

The notification unit is not limited to a monitor, and may be configured by a sound generation unit 120 and a speaker 122 that output sound such as "the sealant applied to the cover glass does not match the transparent agent" or "the expiration date" as shown in fig. 12.

In this configuration, it is necessary to store in advance sound data such as "the sealant applied to the cover glass does not match the transparent agent" and "the expiration date" as the sound generation unit 120.

In addition, as the notification unit, when the sealant and the transparent agent do not match and/or when the use period is exceeded, the notification may be made to the operator by a buzzer sound or the like other than sound from the speaker 122.

As shown in fig. 13, the notification unit may be a communication device 124 capable of data communication with an external device. The communication device 124 is connected to a communication line 125 such as the internet so as to be capable of data communication, and is capable of notifying an external device 126 connected to the communication line 125. Examples of the external device 126 include a portable communication device such as a smartphone and a general personal computer.

For example, in the case where the sealant does not match the transparent agent and/or exceeds the lifetime, the communication means 124 transmits the meaning that the sealant does not match the transparent agent and/or the meaning that the sealant exceeds the lifetime to the external device 126. This makes it possible to notify the person having the external device 126 of the above information.

Further, the control section 112 may store the result in the storage section 113 as to whether or not the sealant and the transparent agent match as the determination result of the determination section 114 and/or whether or not the detection result of the lifetime detection section 118 exceeds the lifetime.

By storing these results in the storage unit 113, traceability can be secured when some problem is found after pasting, and the cause can be easily traced.

In the third embodiment, the examples of the case where the monitor 116, the speaker 122, and the external device 126 are used as the notification unit have been described, but the present invention may be configured by appropriately combining these components.

(fourth embodiment)

The fourth embodiment will be described with respect to a mode in which the cover slip information is stored in a cover slip storage section in which data can be rewritten. Note that the same components as those in the third embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof may be omitted.

Next, an embodiment in which the RFID 128 is used as a cover glass storage unit will be described with reference to fig. 14.

The RFID 128 is embedded anywhere in the holder 82.

The cover glass bonding apparatus 90 is provided with a reader/writer 130 capable of reading and writing data from and to the RFID 128.

As the cover glass information stored in the RFID 128, in addition to the kind and the lifetime of the cover glass, an initial value of the number of cover glasses is stored in the case of a new cover glass, and the remaining number of cover glasses is included in the case of an already used cover glass. In addition, as in the third embodiment, a lot number or a date of production of cover glass may be stored as cover glass information instead of the lifetime.

The cover glass bonding apparatus 90 is provided with a usage amount calculation unit 132 that calculates the usage amount (number of sheets) of cover glass. The usage amount calculation portion 132 is provided as one function of the control portion 112. The usage amount calculating unit 132 can calculate the number of used cover glasses by counting the number of takeouts of the suction tray 104 from the holder 82.

The cover glass pasting device 90 is provided with a remaining amount calculating unit 134, and the remaining amount calculating unit 134 calculates the remaining number of cover glasses in the holder 82 based on the number of used cover glasses.

The remaining amount calculating section 134 is provided as one function of the control section 112. The remaining amount calculating unit 134 can calculate the remaining amount by subtracting the number of uses calculated by the use amount calculating unit 132 from the initial value of the number of cover glasses.

The reader/writer 130 can write the remaining number of cover glasses in the RFID 128 based on the remaining number of cover glasses calculated by the remaining amount calculating unit 134.

Since the initial value of the number of copies is stored in the RFID 128 if the unused holder 82 is used from the beginning, the reader/writer 130 rewrites the initial value or stores the remaining number of copies independently of the initial value.

In addition, when the holder 82 used last time is used, the remaining number is stored in the RFID 128, and therefore the remaining number is rewritten by the reader/writer 130.

The usage amount calculation unit 132 and the remaining amount calculation unit 75 may calculate the remaining amount of the cover film when the worker finishes the work for one day, that is, may be triggered by an operation of turning off the power switch of the cover film sticking apparatus 30.

In order to prevent the sealant applied to the cover glass 80 from drying, the holder 82 containing the cover glass 80 is removed from the cover glass bonding apparatus 90 after the end of the one-day operation of the cover glass bonding apparatus, and is placed on the mounting portion 102 again for use at the next time of use.

At this time, since the remaining number of cover glasses is stored in the RFID 128, the control unit 112 reads the remaining amount of cover glass from the RFID 128 and displays it on the monitor 116, so that the operator can grasp how much cover glass 80 is to be reused and then replace the cover glass 80 (holder 82).

The control unit 112 may collect a use history of the cover glass bonding apparatus 90 and store the collected use history from the reader/writer 130 to the RFID 128 of the holder 82.

In this way, even when the cover glass attaching apparatus 90 itself cannot read the use history due to a failure or the like, the use history can be read from the holder 82.

In the fourth embodiment, the example in which the monitor 116 is used as the notification unit has been described, but the speaker 122 or the external device 126 may be used as the notification unit, or a combination of these may be used as appropriate.

The reader/writer 130 may be provided outside the cover glass bonding apparatus 90 (not shown) independently of the cover glass bonding apparatus 90, instead of being provided inside the cover glass bonding apparatus 90. In this case, reading and writing of the cover glass information can be performed from the outside of the cover glass affixing apparatus 90.

Claims

1. A holder for holding a cover glass, which is attached to a cover glass sticking apparatus and holds a cover glass as a cover film or cover glass, is characterized in that,

with coverslip information including at least the type of coverslip held.

2. The holder holding a cover glass according to claim 1,

the cover glass information is recorded on the holder surface.

3. The holder holding a cover glass according to claim 1,

the holder is provided with a cover glass storage section in which the cover glass information is stored.

4. The holder holding a cover glass according to claim 3,

the data stored in the cover glass storage section can be rewritten.

5. The holder holding a cover glass according to claim 4,

the cover slip information includes an initial value of the amount of the cover slip constituted by the length or the number of the cover slips held by the holder,

the holder can be written with the remaining amount of the cover glass held by the holder calculated by the remaining amount calculating section of the cover glass provided in the cover glass sticking apparatus.

6. The cover glass holder according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the coverslip information includes a lifetime of the coverslip.